Doc Carroll and Old Man Trouble

By Tom Gillespie

IN 1963 one of the legends of the showband era were formed in Claremorris.

Under the name of the Royal Blues, they were managed by the late Andy Creighton, who later ran a huge pub, now a bank, in the town.

The band were recognised as one of the most successful west of Ireland outfits of the 1960s.

Within six weeks of being formed they made a massive impact when they embarked on a tour of Irish halls in the US, a tradition they maintained for many years during Lent when the Church banned dancing in Ireland.

The band was formed when four members of Pete Brown's Band of Renown from Kiltimagh left to strike out on their own.

Frank Gill (sax), his brother Vincent (trombone), Brian Carr (bass) and Doc (Martin) Carroll (guitar) formed the new lineup with Shay O'Hara (vocals), Don Flanagan (drums), Bobby Smith (trumpet) and Brendan Arnold (guitar). Doc, Brendan and Vincent were also featured vocalists along with Shay.

Their first record in 1965, ‘Love's Going to Live Here’, sung by Shay O'Hara, wasn't a great success.

However, their big break came with their next single, ‘Old Man Trouble’, which featured Doc Carroll on vocals. The record shot straight to number one in the Irish charts and remained there for nine weeks.

The Royal Blues were the first west of Ireland act to hit the number one spot.

At their peak, the band played six nights a week to crowds often in excess of 3,000 people.

Doc Carroll was born Martin O'Carroll in Tourmakeady on November 19, 1939, but from a young age became known as Doc Carroll.

His father Frank was a GP and his mother was an American, Catherine Collins. The family moved across Lough Mask to Ballinrobe when Doc was young.

He received his primary school education at Ballinrobe CBS, from where he progressed to St. Nathy's College, Ballaghaderreen.

From a young age, he displayed a love of music. He was an accomplished singer and played piano, guitar, banjo and accordion.

Carroll studied to be a radio officer at Atlantic College, Dublin. But the lure of music proved irresistible, and he enjoyed stints with the Pete Brown Showband and The Cleffonaires.

Even though the band would never again enjoy a number one hit, they did continue to make records that reached the Irish top 10. ‘Far Away From You’, featuring Doc Carroll, went to number eight in 1966, as well as Shay's ‘Santa Natale', which also reached number eight.

In April 1968, Shay O'Hara left the band to replace Houston Wells in the Premier Aces from Ballintubber, Co. Roscommon, and manager Andy Creighton was quoted in Spotlight magazine, the then bible of the Irish entertainment industry, saying he would not be replaced.

Shay was quoted in Spotlight's April 20, 1968, issue, saying: “I was unhappy with the Blues because they weren't doing enough of my kind of music.”

Although they continued on as a seven-piece for a time, they eventually added Dublin man Joe Quigley. In the meantime, Doc Carroll had become the main vocalist after the success of ‘Old Man Trouble’.

The band were in America during the turbulent times following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

In June 1971, the band released the last single to feature Doc Carroll. ‘Night Runners b/w Be My Guest’ did not make an impact on the charts.

By the early ’70s, the era of the big ballrooms and the big showbands was waning and the band underwent a major change.

In February 1972, Doc Carroll followed the lead of peers like Brendan Bowyer and Dickie Rock and left the Royal Blues after 10 years to form his own band, The Nightrunners.

The new band would boast two future superstars in addition to Doc - Tom Allen (who became TR Dallas) and his brother Tony, who would go on to worldwide fame as half of Foster and Allen.

Late in 1971, a relatively young Glen Curtin (23) came home to Cork after spending three years in England on the cabaret scene. He was recruited to front a new band called simply the Glen Curtin Band.

In May 1972, an article in Spotlight reported that Glen, whose own band had not done well, had been drafted into a reconstituted New Blues.

As with many bands who underwent major changes, the New Blues never quite lived up to the success of the Royal Blues, although they continued to do reasonable business and had the very talented Glen, who recorded their only chart single, ‘I'd Love You to Want Me' in 1973.

Doc Carroll, who lived most of his life in Athlone, died in hospital in Dublin in May 2005. His most famous hit was 'Old Man Trouble', recorded in 1966. It stayed at number one on the Irish charts for nine weeks and is credited with making him famous.

His career lasted 40 years and he recorded 26 singles during that time. He famously gave Louis Walsh his first job at 15, working in a pub and managing a fan club, and gave Irish Eurovision hopeful Donna McCaul her first break.

In August 2009 the six surviving members of the Royal Blues took to the stage in Claremorris Town Hall, 40 years after they performed at the official opening of the venue in 1969.

Earlier that day they presided at the official opening of Claremorris Agricultural Show of which they had been deeply involved over the years.

Pre-Covid, Claremorris Town Hall had become one of the major entertainment venues in the west with the country's top artists appearing there.

I am indebted to Gerry Gallagher and his irish-showbands.com.